LG G Watch To Launch Before July Priced At Under $300

LG paraded a prototype of its upcoming G Watch, one of the first smartwatches powered by Google’s exciting new Android Wear operating system, at a product showcase event in the U.K. this week. And according to one LG representative in attendance, you’ll be able to buy the new wearable before July for less than £180 ($300).

Unfortunately, the G Watch LG had on show at the event was non-functional, so Pocket-lint didn’t get a chance to play with real Android Wear. But it was an accurate representation of the G Watch’s final design, and although it’s not quite as pretty as the Moto 360, it is one of the nicer smartwatches we’ve seen to date.

It sports a clean and simple look, with no buttons or logos on its display or chassis. It also looks relatively thin, but its display is bigger than that of the Galaxy Gear 2. We can also see the charging contacts on its back, which suggests it will use a separate charging dock like Samsung’s devices.

LG hasn’t officially announced a release date for the G Watch yet, but Pocket-lint reports it’ll be available before July. In the U.K., it’ll be priced at “less than £180” — which means it should cost under $300 in the U.S., based on today’s exchange rate.

Of course, there are other factors to take into account — such as sales tax — so you should consider this a very rough estimate until LG makes pricing official. But if that is accurate, it means the G Watch will cost around the same as a Galaxy Gear 2.

The advantage of the G Watch isn’t just that it’s powered by Android Wear — which looks to be much more useful than Samsung’s Tizen OS — but it should also be compatible with a greater number of devices. Samsung’s wearables are only compatible with Samsung devices.